Cambodian opposition leader Sam Rainsy has begun campaigning for his party ahead of elections, just one day after returning to his homeland from four years of self-imposed exile in France.

The campaign began Saturday, with Rainsy telling reporters in the southern province of Kampong Speu that he condemned an attack on the offices of his Cambodia National Rescue Party in Phnom Penh earlier in the day.

A lone gunman fired a shot at the party's headquarters in the early hours of Saturday while the office was still closed for the night. No one was hurt in the incident, but the opposition immediately condemned the incident as an attempt to intimidate the opposition ahead of July 28 general elections.

Rainsy received a royal pardon last week at the request of Prime Minister Hun Sen. The opposition leader had been living in France after fleeing Cambodia in 2009 to avoid trial on charges many consider were politically motivated. He was greeted by huge crowds when he returned home Friday.

The court sentenced Rainsy to two years in prison for uprooting a temporary border marker with Vietnam, and a further nine years for misinformation after he showed off a map the government said provided the wrong borders.

The sentence was widely seen as a clumsy attempt to use the courts to hobble Hun Sen’s most trenchant and effective political opponent. Hun Sen has been in power for nearly three decades.

Afghan officials and human rights organizations assert that Pakistani authorities are using deadly attack at school in Peshawar as pretext to push out Afghan refugees More

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by: Gary Fultheim from: Long Beach

July 21, 2013 5:31 PM

The writer indicated many see the convition of Sam Rainsy as a political ploy of Hun Sen or the CPP. It should be pointed out that the "Many" does not include the 79% of the Cambodian support that favor the CPP. This is per the IRI calculation...

We should bring up the fact that many in the USA that support the CPP Opposition have campaign funds that originate with Tax Fraud, medical Fraud, Insurance Fraud. Immigration Fraud etc going to the USA politicians that for receiving money or campaign donations desire to attack Hun Sen and the CPP. These same individuals also indirectly support Khmer Rouge Philosophy.Too bad the writer with VOA did not include that Hun Sen , Vietnam and 14,000 other Khmer helped liberate Cambodia from the Khmer Rouge. SR joined with the KR during 1997/98 .Also the UN gave the KR a seat and a platform to preach it's anti Vietnam dctrine.

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